Putting on the ritz!

Every garden needs a bit of ritzy glamour to lift it out of the ordinary and there is nothing does it better that some classy garden trees. There are many excellent small garden trees that are ideal for this purpose.

The variegated dogwood, Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ has tiers of branches that carry creamy white variegated leaves on redbarked twigs. Whether in leaf or bare branched, this tree’s shape is very beautiful. The tulip magnolia, Magnolia soulangeana, is another good example, along with other magnolias, such as Magnolia campbellii, Magnolia ‘Leonard Messel’ and Magnolia kobus. All of these have outstanding flowers in spring and good foliage and tree shape all year round.

The Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, in many forms can fit the bill, but these are the larger kinds such as the plain green species itself, ‘Osakazuki’, ‘Samidare’, the purple ‘Trompenburg’ and the coral-bark maple, ‘Sango-kaku’, formerly ‘Senkaki’. These maples have wonderful foliage and beautiful structure. The paperbark maple, Acer griseum, also has these qualities.

The best flowering cherries qualify, such as the lovely early flowering Prunus conradinae; the yoshino cherry, Prunus yedoensis; Sargent’s cherry, Prunus sargentii, and the related flowering almond, Prunus dulcis. All of these kinds have good foliage and tree shape as well as good flowers. In parts of the country that are not too cold, arbutus would be a possibility, especially Arbutus andrachnoides with its smooth reddish bark, good flower and fine foliage. Some conifers would make the grade — the upright pillar shape of Thuja ‘Smaragd’; the pretty shape of the korean fir, Abies koreana; the spruces, Picea breweriana and Picea pungens ‘Koster’; and the magnificent gingko. Conifers are not able to offer flowers but they do have great shape, texture and leaf colour.

Others that would measure up include the golden leaved form of false acacia, Robinia pseudacacia ‘Frisia’, its golden yellow strikes a sunny note in a sheltered garden. The Chilean myrtle, Luma apiculata, makes a fine specimen with lovely bark, good foliage and pretty white flowers, but it should have lower branches removed to show the stem. The whitestemmed birch Betula utilis ‘Jacquemontii’ can be used successfully as can the lovely large-leaved whitebeam, Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’.

These stylish trees should be given a prominent position, so that their qualities will be noticed. There is no point in tucking a classy tree into the general mixture – it needs space. Such trees could be planted on their own in a lawn area as specimens, although this often isolates them a little too much. The best position is near the edge of a bed or border or flanking a pathway or paved area.

Care for the environment: Butterfly Plants

This is the time of year when butterflies are most numerous and most active in the garden. To encourage them and to enjoy their beauty, it is a good idea to provide them with plants that they find attractive. But this is not purely a selfish move, as it does benefit the butterflies and enhances their ability in some cases to over-winter and breed the following year in larger numbers. The best butterfly plant is the butterfly bush, or buddleia, a large shrub. Suitable for smaller gardens are Buenos Aires verbena, thyme and the ice plant, or sedum.

Using Garden Tools

Garden sprinkler
Although a sprinkler is not needed all that often and spends long periods stored away in a shed, it can be a very useful piece of equipment. It is sometimes used for sprinkling a lawn but that is not a particularly good use for it as a lawn will always recover quickly once rain returns. Where it can be useful is to keep vegetables growing well, to help new perennial flowers to get established and to deliver water to the spread out roots of large old trees that might be suffering from drought.

This month in your Garden

• Continue regular mowing but not as often.
• Spray for potato blight, if there are warnings.
• Take cuttings of many shrubs.
• Make final sowings of vegetables.
• Continue to spray for rose blackspot in wet weather.
• Prune weigela and philadelphus if not already done.
• Continue watering pots and baskets regularly.
• Feed greenhouse tomatoes until the end of the month.
• Complete the re-potting of indoor plants. . Clip most kinds of hedge before stems harden.
• Summer-prune wisteria, removing whippy growths.